BrightStar Care leveraged Franworth’s fulfillment division to accelerate distribution of crucial personal protective equipment (PPE) materials for its franchise system, and has now joined forces with the franchise growth equity firm to provide access to inventory to the franchise community at cost.
To ensure the safety of BrightStar Care clients and franchise employees and to continue providing in-home care during the pandemic, CEO and founder Shelly Sun and her team leveraged resources across the globe and secured necessary PPE.
With over $2m invested in the procurement side of the equation, the BrightStar Care team enlisted the help of Franworth, a franchise-focused growth equity firm led by 2019 International Franchise Association (IFA) chair David Barr and founder and CEO John Rotche.
Through the capabilities of the Franworth’s fulfillment division proprietary supply chain system, BrightStar Care was able to fill and distribute orders for all franchise owners of essential PPE including N-95 masks, face shields, digital thermometers, disposable gloves and hand sanitizer bottles. As a result, Franworth’s services enabled BrightStar Care’s independently owned and operated small businesses to continue serving and protecting the safety and well-being of their staff and clients.
“It’s been a long journey, but we wanted to support the entire franchise community in the fight against this pandemic by making PPE available for everyone regardless of who they are caring for during these times. Partnering with Franworth has made this all possible,” said Sun.
“We always want to do the right thing, so we have invested more than $2m in PPE and vetted all sources thoroughly so that our franchisees can instead focus on their business. Our goal is to protect BrightStar Care clients and ensure that our offices’ employees can continue providing the highest quality of in-home care during the pandemic.
“We also want to empower the entire franchise industry to truly make a difference in their local communities and taking the workload away from them when it comes to sourcing PPE frees them up to do what they do best.”
With PPE supplies in high demand, many businesses are struggling to determine how to prepare for reopening while maintaining the safety of staff and customers and items remain scarce.
BrightStar Care and Franworth have expanded their partnership in an effort to help more franchisors gain access to the materials they need, extending PPE at cost to fellow IFA members through the services of Franworth’s fulfillment division. Since the launch of this initiative, BrightStar Care and Franworth have fulfilled PPE orders for more than 100 franchise companies, providing them with the resources they need to reopen their business while following the health and safety guidelines of their local community.
“Limited access to PPE materials is one of the biggest challenges facing businesses today, and we’re proud to be partnering with BrightStar Care and leveraging the capabilities of Franworth’s Fulfillment Division to support the franchising community,” said Dan Hannay, president of procurement of Franworth.
“We know that our technology and supply chain resources can alleviate some of the burden for franchisors who are trying to support their franchisees through the COVID-19 pandemic. Having an opportunity to make a positive impact on fellow IFA members has been incredibly rewarding and we look forward to helping more brands facilitate their PPE distribution needs and navigate the challenges of these unprecedented times.”
